On Mon, 17 Mar 2008 08:44:28 +0000, furnessvale wrote

Slightly OT. I was once working a boat down the Oxford canal when I
came across a youth who was jumping across the lock rather than
walking to the far gates. About 8ft wide so nearly the same width.

I have a mill race running past the office in which I'm writing this. It's
about 2m wide with vertical stone walls and a 2m drop to the fast-running
stream below. My cat used to leap over it rather than walk down the garden to
the bridge.

Note the phrase 'used to' :-)